LOCKED OUT

As a teenager I worked at a burger joint. Until I could afford a car, I walked to and from work. I was an independent kid, so I didn’t ask for rides. It was about 4 miles. I mostly worked nights and walked home between 11:00pm and midnight—later on weekends. Frequently my folks were already in bed when I got home. More than once police questioned me about being out so late—in bad weather (rain, snow, a plague of locusts) they sometimes gave me a ride to my grandmother's store.

My parents had two locks on the back door--a skeleton key lock and a deadbolt. Everyone in the family had a key to the deadbolt, but only my parents had skeleton keys for the other lock. (Note: With a skeleton key lock, you can actually see through the keyhole to the other side.) One night I got home to find both locks were locked—and everyone was in bed. I couldn't open the door. Being independent (and maybe a little stubborn) I decided to break in. We had one window that would pop open if you pushed on it in the right place. I worried a little about being shot climbing in the window, but not enough to keep me from doing it. It became my regular way into the house after work. But then one Saturday my father fixed the window. Coincidence, or did he know I had been coming in through the window??? Haha!

I had to find another way in. I played with one of the cellar windows and found a way to flip the lock from the outside. That became my new way into the house after work. That lasted about 2 weeks until one night I came home, climbed in the cellar window, and discovered my father had locked the door from the cellar to the kitchen. Coincidence, or did he know? Hmmmm?

Again, I refused to knock, so I had to think of another way in. Then I remembered something I had seen on TV. The cellar door had a skeleton key lock and my dad had left the key IN the lock. So I found newspaper in the cellar and slid it under the door. Then, using a screwdriver from his work bench, I pushed the key out of the lock. It fell onto the paper and when I pulled the paper out from under the door the key came with it. I had the key! I did a little victory dance about getting in, but I was also worried. If my dad had removed the key from the locked door, there would have been no way for me to get into the house (the non-cellar part). I knew what I needed to do.

Fortunately, I had just started a new class in school—metal shop. The next day I borrowed my mother's skeleton key and made a copy of it in class. I didn't know if cast aluminum would be strong enough, but I made a mold of the key, filled it with melted aluminum and hoped it would work. It did! I didn’t have to break into my own house anymore. Yes, I did another victory dance in celebration! That was one of the most useful classes I took in high school!!!

I never asked my dad if he forgot I wasn’t home or if he was actually TRYING to keep me out. Maybe he was just tired and forgetful after having been a parent for 32 years--my oldest sister is 16 years older than I am. What do you think? Was he sending me a message and I failed to take the hint about coming home??? Personally, I do not think it was intentional. I was his youngest child and he still needed me to do chores. LOL!!!

PS – I later had to use my break-in skills to help one of my brothers. So maybe everything really does happen or a reason.